Today, we celebrated our final project event! We all came together at Kellogg College to share the stories of our journeys over the past go_girl year with friends and families and to present the projects to those interested. Everyone seemed really impressed by the journey made since the start of the project in September 2015.

The young women received their AQA certificates and Julia got a special recognition for having attended every single one of the 35 classes and all additional events and outings since the project started!

So what’s next for the young women? CE will start Sixth Form in September and is planning to become a midwife. RH is planning to become a youth worker, citing Mel as her inspiration, and will start the courses that lead her on that path in autumn. Both I and F are planning to become teachers. JT will embark on a computer course in September to learn more about computers and maybe even coding. C will continue her work in the foodbank and is planning to get a licence to drive a fork-lift truck. SR is becoming a mom in the next few weeks. J is planning to volunteer for an NGO radio station. And SB is planning to retake her A-levels to get into Uni to fulfil her dream of studying for a science degree. We are so proud of all of them and wish them every luck for their next steps. Go Girls!

The go girl football fitness, in collaboration with Oxford United Women FC, which, initiated by Mel, developed from the go girl project, will resume in September and will continue. Mel will continue to follow up with the young women’s educational paths in the context of the weekly drop in session at the Early Intervention Hub. Niall and Anne will continue to meet and check in with the young women to hear about their plans and progress once a month until next year.

The young women with their certificates (missing in the picture are C, I, J and S)

At a glance

go_girl: code+create is a project at the Department of Education, University of Oxford, run in partnership with the Oxfordshire County Council's Early Intervention Service. In line with Oxford’s targets in its Access Agreement with the Office for Fair Access, this interdisciplinary project complements existing programmes aimed at widening access to the University of Oxford, but tackles the problem in a fundamentally new way using technology. The research was originally supported by the University of Oxford IT Innovation Challenges Seed Fund and has received subsequent funding from Goldman Sachs Gives.